


Roxy: Go Visit Your Cousin

by DuosAngel



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Brainbent, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-05
Updated: 2012-11-05
Packaged: 2017-11-18 01:46:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/555516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DuosAngel/pseuds/DuosAngel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>LALONDE’S WEIRDO COUSIN TRIED TO VISIT WITHOUT AN APPOINTMENT AND SHE TURNED UP FUCKING TIPSY SO THEY HAD TO KICK HER OUT.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Roxy: Go Visit Your Cousin

**Author's Note:**

> Please feel free to give constructive criticism in the comments.

When your aunt tells you that Rose has left to visit Europe you don’t believe her. You couldn’t say what exactly it is that makes you think she’s lying. It’s not that visiting Europe isn’t something Rose would do. Going around foreign countries and learning about shit most people wouldn’t care about sounds exactly the kind of thing your cousin would do. 

It’s just that the last time you saw Rose she didn’t look so great. She had looked tired, not the kind of tired you get from not sleeping enough, the kind that you get after too long of not taking care of yourself right. You know what it’s like to be that kind of tired. You know that the way you deal with it isn’t the healthiest. You also know that Rose was trying the same thing.

You wonder if maybe Rose lost control of it. She’s still a teenager after all. Maybe she realized that and decided to do something about it. A few weeks after your aunt had told you Rose was in Europe you decide to find out if your hunch is right. It’s a little worrying how easy it is to hack into her insurance records, but you just chalk it up to your awesome skills.

Your hunch was correct; Rose had gone off and signed herself into an in-patient rehab program. You don’t really know how to feel about what you find. Not surprised. Not by the rehab anyway. You are surprised to see that the rehab facility isn’t the only place Rose seems to have gone to. There’s another place that the insurance is paying for; St. Lobaf Residential Treatment Center. A quick Google search gives you all the information you could want about the place. It also leaves you with a question you don’t think any amount of hacking or Googling can answer:

Why is Rosie at a psychiatric facility? 

You guess that it’s related to the drinking, but isn’t that what rehab was for? Why would she need therapy on top of it? Another look at the records shows that the rehab seems to have been paid off but the payments to St. Lobaf continue after that. The website had said they did inpatient therapy. You realize that this is where Rose is now. She’s been there for a while in fact.  You wonder if anyone has been visiting her before remembering that the only people who even know where she is are her parents. Have they been visiting? They must have. Why wouldn’t they visit their own daughter during what must be a very hard time?

Suddenly you don’t feel all that well. That’s and easy fix though.

You go to get yourself a drink, but as you reach for the vodka you hesitate. How many drinks have you had tonight? Three? You had a mai tai with lunch too. Then there was the Bailey’s in your coffee this morning…um wow. That seems like a lot in one day now that you’re looking back. It’s not uncommon for you though, pretty average actually. Not to most people though.

You let out a sound of annoyance at yourself. So what if you drink more than most people? Most people can’t afford to drink that much. You’re sure that if they could then they would. Anyway it’s not like you’re the only one in the family who drinks this much. Your mother, your aunt, you father, Rose-

You pull your hand away from the vodka as if it had spontaneously caught fire. You don’t want a drink anymore. Instead you go to sleep and try very hard not to think about your cousin or your own habits.

When you wake up the next day you still feel vaguely uncomfortable. All thoughts of Rose and the facility she’s at come swarming back before you can so much as throw off the blanket. They continue to hound you at breakfast and after until you finally can’t take it anymore. You have to talk to Rose. You don’t really know why but you do. It shouldn’t be a problem; you can just go up for a short visit and talk. She might be really happy to see you too. After all she’s surrounded by strangers, strangers who are in god only knows what kind of mental state, with almost none of her family and friends contacting her.

You decide to go, today even. After all why should you wait? You quickly get the address off of St. Lobaf’s website and call a cab. The cab you have on speed dial. You actually own a car, you even have your license, but a year back you got into a fender bender. It wasn’t too bad, no one involved got so much as whiplash, but…well you had been having a hard day so you had been drinking out of your flask. It really wasn’t that big a deal. You still can’t bring yourself to drive if you can avoid it. And you always can since you always have cab fare.

As the cab pulls up you check your purse to be sure you’re aren’t missing anything. Keys, wallet, phone, make up, a pen, and your flask. You debate over whether or not you should bring the last item. It would be in pretty poor taste to bring alcohol around someone who is a recovering alcoholic. But you never know when you might find yourself in need of a drink. Wait, no. Not need. You don’t need it. That would only be the case if you were…well it doesn’t matter because you don’t. You start to head back to the kitchen so you can put the flask in the fridge but the cabbie honks his horn. You shouldn’t keep him waiting. The flask is fine; you can just ask the receptionist or whatever to watch your purse. Then you don’t have to worry about booze being around Rosie.

For the most part the rise out to St. Lobaf is uneventful, at least as far as traffic goes. Your mind, however, is still a mess. Now that you’re actually on your way you can’t help but second guess your decision. Should you have called ahead? Will Rose really be happy to see you? What if they won’t let you talk to her? What if she doesn’t want to talk to you? The questions keep going around and around in your head. Before you even realize what you’re doing you pull the flask out of your purse. You pause before taking a drink; much like you had last night. You shouldn’t drink now. After you see Rose, then it’ll be ok, right? But you skipped putting Bailey’s in your coffee; actually you mostly skipped breakfast except for a few bites of eggs. Besides you have a pretty decent tolerance for alcohol. Just a little won’t hurt. Just to settle your nerves.

When the cab pulls into the driveway the flask is empty. You tell yourself that it’s ok. No one will be able to tell. When you pay the cabbie and tell him to have a nice day you don’t slur your words. You’re walking normally. You don’t exactly feel sober, but your flask didn’t have enough to even get you buzzed. You know because you’ve never gotten a buzz from just the flask. So even though you feel like you might sort of have one, well it’s just your mind playing tricks on you. How could you possibly be buzzed? Your brain reminds you that you didn’t eat. That wouldn’t really matter though, right?

You assure yourself that it wouldn’t as you approach the front desk. You put on your most charming smile and ask to see Rose Lalonde. The woman behind the desk, a pretty but serious looking blonde, asks for your name and then checks a book after you tell her. Then she asks if you made an appointment. No, you say, you hadn’t but Rosie is your cousin so it shouldn’t be that big a deal. The woman says that you need to have an appointment to visit with a patient. You explain that you only just found out Rose was even here and you’re worried about her. You just need to see her for a few minutes, that would be ok wouldn’t it?

Before the woman can answer someone else walks over. Another woman, shorter, with dark hair, tinted glasses, and the most hideously colored clothing you have ever seen. She smiles at you in a way that you think is pleasant but has far too many teeth involved. The new woman, who is Dr. Pyrope according to the name badge she’s wearing, greets you and asks who you’re here to see. You tell her what you told the woman behind the desk.

“I’m sorry but Rose isn’t taking any visitors at this time. You can try sending her a letter until she allows visits.”

“Are you sure I can’t see her? I came all the way out here. Maybe she’d be willing to make an exception?”

“Maybe she would. It doesn’t matter though, because as her doctor I cannot allow you to see her today.”

You give up on charming. You’re actually pretty upset at that. “And just why is that?”

“Because Miss, allowing someone who has been drinking to visit with my patient who was recently treated for problems with alcohol would be very detrimental to her recovery.”

How the hell did she know? You must have said the words out loud, or maybe this doctor is a mind reader, because she answers.

“I can smell it on your breath. It would be best if you leave now.” 

“I…I came by cab.” You can’t think of anything else to say. Dr. Pyrope says that the woman behind the desk, Nurse Messenger, can call one for you and then wishes you a nice day. You end up taking the same cab that brought you to St. Labaf home. When you walk through your front door all you can think is one thing:

You really need a drink.


End file.
